Neoliberalism exposed: ‘The Invisible Doctrine’ at BIFF

On Saturday, May 31 at 4:30 p.m., “The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism” will screen at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington as part of The Berkshire International Film Festival.

Based on the book by the same title, the documentary explores the work of public intellectual and author George Monbiot (“Out of the Wreckage”, “Regenesis”), and is the latest project from award-winning documentary filmmakers Peter Hutchison and Lucas Sabean (“Requiem for the American Dream (ft. Noam Chomsky)”).

Augmented by AI generated graphics and animation, the film begins with Monbiot asking,“Neoliberalism: do you know what it is?” Largely defined by competition, neoliberalism pits people against one another in a system where financial success is encouraged and failure is shameful. But Hutchinson says it doesn’t have to be that way.

“We’re seeing neoliberalism on a very extreme level right now. With Trump, there’s chaos, deconstruction of the administrative state, flooding the zone, eroding people’s faith in institutions and democracy itself. This economic growth model is incompatible with the survival of the earth. We need to look at things in a different way.”

As a documentary filmmaker and professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Hutchinson is a skilled storyteller aware of the narratives we’ve internalized. His film suggests other models.

“There’s an experiment in Amsterdam called true cost pricing with the option to pay the standard or a slightly higher price that considers the environment, public health or labor practices. People will pay the higher price knowing what they’re buying has a direct impact,” he said.

“If we can expose a broader range of communities to all of these amazing ideas and people were able to adopt two or three of them, we could really make some fantastic movement forward,” he added.

“Human beings are the most cooperative species on the planet, and evolutionarily that has been an imperative for our survival. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here. We’re not advocating an end to capitalism as much as we are re-envisioning our relationship to capitalism. There are plenty of models within the structures of capitalism that make people happier, strengthen community and make people feel like they have agency. The more people invest in a community the more they feel like they belong to it, which is one of the most important antidotes to neoliberalism,” he said.

The screening of “The Invisible Doctrine” will be followed by a Q&A session. For tickets to this film and more during BIFF, visit: biffma.org